*finishes gameplay post*
*drops mic*
More serious notes:
- I have no idea whether that was supposed to happen. I went with what seemed right.
- Holy crap, Spoony's gonna be a broken man by the end of this. Expect some desperate disbelieving clinging.
- I guess that post also reveals my preferred ship.
- Two hours of my life, guys. Two freaking hours. And I'm still shaking a little.
- That was one of the longest and most intense posts I've ever written and I'm really insecure about it
- Sorry if I've gone and ruined anything, Salsa.
... wow. That’s damned powerful stuff, there, Ronnie.
And meanwhile, here’s me, completely blank on where to take the piece that Salsa’s done for/to Pavanna....
Ya. Salsa hasn't dropped the shoe on me yet. He's making me feel inadequate as a DM and storyteller. Everyone's nightmares are... Well let's just say this group has officially gone through the blender together and we haven't even gotten to the demon spawn that's doing this yet. Best case scenario, Olivius is scarred. And afraid. Desperately afraid.
Yeah, it took me about five hours to write that. I had stop a couple of times on Horatio's and just walk away.
That said, I still need to do Asuriel's, and that's going to be interesting.
Wow. Thirzin's...it makes him angry. Like that's Thirzin's response. To him, he trusts his original memory, and at this point, it flies in the face of what his father told him. So this definitely is the rage boiling in Thirzin. Not despair, but a true ferocity. I'll admit, he'll be a hard one to keep single classed after this. The anger is boiling from a deep place now.
Ya. This is the kind of scene you derive class levels from.
I haven't gotten carried away like that since my paladin got introspective about killing prisoners. I also had to stop several times. Watched a video of ducklings on a water slide, played with my pixel dragons, laughed at the mental image of my swashbuckler's public embarrassment.
In the same vein as Thirzin, this is completely against Horatio's memory. Here's someone he saw die, doing horrifically out of character things. He's trying to regain control, but could lose himself in the process.
Salsa pulled out all the stops. Time to retaliate in kind. What doesn't kill us, gives us XP!
-Posted with Wayfinder
Well, is pulling. As I said, my shoe hasn't dropped yet, and I'm kinda afraid for it to drop.
I'm waiting to see it. I've been shamelessly opening all the spoilers, and I think there should be a group hug when we all snap out of it.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Totally. I'm a self-identified spoiler spoiler. No shame here. Though part of me wishes those spoilers weren't opened in that horror movie kind of way.
Also, yay group hugs.
And mad props to Salsa for inspiring a group hug.
Thank you. Thank you. I have some plans for what is going to happen between books to help lighten the mood some and give us a breather because the beginning of book 2 is pretty dark itself and I would like to have a chance to unwind a bit before ratcheting that up.
Oh, and for those reading the spoilers, don't worry, you'll be meeting Nuala soon enough.
Those group hugs will have to wait a bit though. I'm not quite done with you guys just yet.
Oh god. I'm dreading that meeting for so many reasons.
Yeah, I know book 2 will be intense. Please try not to kill me.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Oh come on, it won't be that bad. I think I know of one or two of the reasons, but not the others. Would you care to spell it out for the brain addled GM?
well sorry I haven't replied (busy work day)
anyway. as far as all of this stuff goes, yeah Spoony is having some serious stuff going on, of course Noro's isn't a cake walk either.
(I think Salsa knows Noro as well or even better than I know Noro)
anyway. the real problem for Noro is, Her nightmare doesn't end when she snaps out of it. this is all too real for her. She will have to deal with certain aspects of her situation beyond this little scene.
And, unfortunately, it will probably lead to some drama among the party as well. i only hope that Noro will find the will to continue going with you guys.
Believe me, I think Noro will. Thirzin, I'm realizing, shares a lot in common with her (and is reminded a lot of his little sister; not sure why), and he's going to start showing a lot of why you don't make the dwarf mad.
Don't sweat it, just post when you can.
As for continuing. Well, I may be able to help with that. (And it seems I already have.)
I might be going against everything Salsa planned, but I'm using this as a growth point for Spoony. He's working out a big issue that's been holding him back for a while, confronting some inner demons, and it'll either make or break him. I shudder to think what the BBEG will bring...
Have I thrown a spanner in your plans, Salsa?
-Posted with Wayfinder
Not at all, but then again, I'm not down with the nightmares yet. And then there's what comes after.
If this is going where I feel it's going Olivius is dealing with reality right now too, or pretty near to it. I think none of us are going to just shake this off.
*frightened whimpering*
What could you possibly do that's worse than this?!
-Posted with Wayfinder
I keep hitting the refresh button on my campaign tabs hoping to see a post in this or the CotCT game I'm running.
Yeah, I'm at work. I have a post planned for CotCT; having a good chuckle at everyone's reactions. Especially Rhas. :P
I'll get that one up tonight. And I'll admit, I want this to move. I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for a response now >.>
-Posted with Wayfinder
*frightened whimpering*
What could you possibly do that's worse than this?!-Posted with Wayfinder
Keep an eye on Noro's spoilers and wait for the next bit of your nightmare.
I've been following Noro's spoilers and cringing. I'm now a lot more afraid of what's coming next...
-Posted with Wayfinder
Go Noro! Who's our favorite girl with staggering anger management issues!
*reads Noro's spoiler*
WOOOO! YOU GO, GIRL!
-Posted with Wayfinder
:)
This is going to be good.
Just waiting on everyone else.
In the meantime, I need to get Asuriel's done.
Argh
The suspense
-Posted with Wayfinder
I'm working up mine! Thirzin is now angry, and I'm trying to convey that well.
Spent the day traveling for Thanksgiving. I'll have something up tomorrow.
Ok, that was definitely one of the hardest posts I've written up in awhile. Gut wrenching and character building. There's a reason why Thirzin doesn't talk about his past, and now...now he's remembering.
*gives Thirzin a standing ovation, tears in eyes*
This is some stellar role-playing, guys. I love you all. <3
On a more serious note, the Pinery bushfire is still raging. Two people confirmed dead. 85,000 hectares of land burnt. A piggery went up - over 2000 pigs burned to death. People I work with have lost their homes. It's just terrifying. =(
Yeah, Sky News is all over that. Thankfully, my Dad’s way up in Queensland, far away from all that, but still, Ronnie, I offer hugs and best wishes to you, yours, and all those who are affected by the flames.
On a more game-related note, I’m still coming up next-to-blank for where to take Pavanna’s dream-sequence. I mean, I’ve got a vague outline for how I could write her breaking out of her predicament and taking the fight back to these scum, but it feels like a wish-fulfillment ass-pull. If I read it in someone else’s fanfic or RP, I’d make disgusted noises about ‘waif-fu’ and ‘deus ex machina’ and ‘goddamn blatant power fantasies flying in the face of all plausibility!’
If in doubt, flail madly? >.> Suddenly worried I might have pulled a deus ex machina in having Spoony fight back...
Horatio faced his memories of Flynn and fought back with words and raw emotion. That’s pretty damned plausible, especially since he has the truth of his torment to add weight to his words, and far from deus ex machina.
A 5’ 4”, 130lb woman breaking free from being manhandled, restrained, and held underwater by not just one but three 6’, 200lb men? And quite possibly overpowering them? Kind of strains credibility.
EDIT: though re-reading her character-sheet does remind me that ‘divine intervention’ is not exactly without precedent in-setting.
Eh... I’ll let it simmer in the sauce for another few hours and do a taste-test tomorrow.
True that. Maybe a combination of prayer and desperate thrashing is in order.
Bravo, Thirzin, Bravo.
Ronnie: I'm so sorry to hear that. Prayers are being prayed
@Ronnie: That is some bad news. I hope everything turns out alright for everyone. I'll be praying for you and yours.
As for Deus ex Machinas I wouldn't worry about it. I did it this way so you guys could affect the dream and boy have you.
@Thirxin: Awesome post there. I almost feel sorry for what's going to happen to Bruthazmus.
Almost.
@Trace: Just a thought, but what if you went for a smaller victory, like giving them a black-eye or something? Not exactly epic, but it wouldn't be like rolling over and giving up.
On the otherhand. I did try to set this up to be Pavanna's worst nightmare. The three bullies who threw her into the canals when she was little have come back and are holding her head underwater. It wouldn't be out of character for her to panic and have fear overtake her, I think.
@Saroune: No worries, take your time and enjoy being around family. I'm not going to worry about moving forward until tomorrow anyway.
===
On the plus side, this next bit is going to be the end of the nightmares, and then comes the real fun. >:D
The real fun of kicking bugbear ass?
Among other things.
On a side note, I'm going to be starting up a recruitment for a Fate game. I'll post a link here and in the CotCT discussion, so if you want to play in a game that's going to feel like Firefly with Roaring Twenties Mobsters and corrupt politicians, then sign on up. The cool part is, you guys get to help me flesh out the world because world generation in Fate is done cooperatively.
Is this going to be the last nightmare sequence? Or is there more terror to come? Either way, I'm hanging out for the next update. I can't handle this suspense!
-Posted with Wayfinder
This is going ot be the last of the nightmare sequence, yes. Although whether or not that's the end of the horror show remains to be seen.
I'm going to push things tomorrow night if Pavanna and Saroune don't post by then, though I will give an extension if it is asked for.
In the meantime, I'm starting up a Fate game here. If you like science fiction, give it a glance and see if you're interested.
... Salsa, you have a PM inbound. (Short version? Finding a way to narrate my character’s utter helplessness and ignominious ‘death throes’ is proving pretty goddamn difficult. )
I’m trying to put together a workable RP post now, but I doubt it’ll be anywhere near my best material.
PM read and responded to.
I just want to ask if anyone hasn't been having fun with this, and if not, to publically apologize for screwing up. I have a philosophy about GMing; if you guys aren't having fun, I have not done my job. This wasn't meant to be frustrating, and was actually supposed to be a more interesting turn of events than just storming the dungeon. As things have turned out though. I am starting to worry that I have just made a huge, huge mistake in planning things as I have for this.
If you guys aren't having fun, then I am really, really sorry, and if you guys want, we can just go back and redo this bit with you guys writing it out.
That said, I'm going to hold off for posting until I hear from all of you. This is supposed to be fun and right now, I'm worried that it's not.
I'm having... fun? These sequences may not be fun in the strictest sense, but these are nightmares. They aren't fun almost by definition. I am having fun in the sense that I expect this to be fantastic growth for Olivius, and I'm having a great time with the other's sequences. It's tough to read sometimes, but if this turns out to be the coming together I expect then it's worth it. Olivius might even stop running and be who he is depending on what happens.
In short, you get two big 'ol thumbs up from me.
And Pavanna, well written. I think you did a great job. :)
From my point of view, it is fun. Yes, it is difficult, but I think it's part of character development. I feel like this is how a real monster of intelligence fights our characters, and each one of us must find the way (IC) to defeat our own demons. Thirzin relied on the strength of memory and his knowledge of what he was tasked to do.
@Pavanna: I'll have to read over your spoilers, but I have some ideas for how Pavanna can overcome this personal trial. From IC and stat block, she is a more intelligent character who uses her mind more than a straight brute force solution. If an enemy cannot be overwhelmed by force, then you use what means you have. And being Iomedean (I always misspell that), that means Valor. This is the ultimate danger, a test the Goddess is allowing Pavanna to face. If she can't do it, then what does she rely on? She has faith, she has magic. She wields the will of the Inheritor. Show the enemies why they should fear Pavanna and not the other way around.
[Edit:] Ninja-ed